The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1887-11-25
ApRn.HlsroR1c CRY.

The Wonderful Discovery Of Professor
cushman..A City Of ss,ooo Inhabitants
Once, Now But q Relic Of Ethnologieal
Interest.
Washington special: A letter from
Arizona, printed in this Washington
Post this mSrring. gives information
of an exceedingly interesting and val
liable chronological find made by MIR.
Frank H. Cushman, of Zuni fame, the
past summer iu Arizona. It seems he
has unearthed the ruins of a pre-his-
toric city in the Salt River valley,
about eighty miles northwest OF Tucson.
Inquiry made to-day at the Office Of
the Powell geological survey ELECTED
full confirmation of the printed report,
together with interesting addi-
tional information about the
great find. Prof Cushman is at
present in southern California, lying
extremely i'll, but the force he put at
work during the summer exhuming the
buried city are still encamped on the
spot continuing their explorations.
The camp IS located on the edge of
the unearthed city and about 800 yards
from what vas its citadel, or fortified
temple. This Is believed to have been
u building Of considerable size and
strength. probably several stories high,
and had its foundations laid deep q
the earth. The material used in its
construction was sun dried clay, the
same as that used by the Mexicans of
the lower and middle classes and be-
fore MIR. Cushman began his
exploration there was nothing
to mark its whereabouts,
except a sort of oblong hiliock or
mound. Little of the walls above the
fonn tation we're found intact, but the
ground plan could be traced in every
detail, Us we'll as the lines of the outer
wall. The rooms were of different
sizes. and seemed to have been con-
strurted with much architectural skill.
A number of the smaller apartments,
had undoubtedly been constructed for
burial vaults, for when they were
opened up skeletons were found in
them. the heads being invariably to the
east. In n of these vaults was the
skeleton of IL child. Mr.. Cushman was
of the opinion that the building had
been u sort of combined citadel and
sacred temple, and that the remains of
those found there were those of priests
and their families. The city extended
out in all directions from the palace or
temple, and the foundations of numer-
IL dwellings had been exposed, many
of them consisting of but u single
room; but now and then there IS one of
larger and mor ample proportions,
and i'll most of these larger ones there
had been found burial vaults and
skeletons. Two thousand of these
nave bcen cxhumed already according
to the letter in the Post, but it is
thought by the officials of the gcologi-
cal survey that this is = misprint tor
two hundred. A great deal of pos
terry has been taken out, of course. No
iron, copper or metal instruments of
my kind have been found, but great
quantities OF stone axes, stone pastles
and mortars, bone needles and knives
and other such materials rs belong to
the stone age. The skill with which
these articles were made was far SUI
perior, however. to that shown by the
Indians found i'll America by the
whites. These prehistoric dwellers of
southern Arizona were o people of very
superior intelligence.
MIR. Cushman has found q good deal
of wheat and barley and other grain,
all of it, Of course. in a charrcd, black
ened condition, and he has also traced.
several canals and found the ruins OF a
large reservoir, SO that he has no doubt
that extensive irrigation had been car.
ricd on and that all the valley had been
under cultivation. He thinks there
must have been a population of Mt least
25 600 in the ruined city, and that
most of the inhabitants lived by culti-
waiting the soil of the surrounding coun-
try.
SNoIiAaA WIS NucStiOlCu 10 W us
theory Of the complete disappearance
of the people who occupied this city.
81 think" said he, ..they suffered.
from some great calamity like tho in-
habitants of Herculapnum and POM
peii. 1t was probably an earthquake.
1 have found skeletons under the
walls of houses lying as if the walls
had suddenly fallen upon the person
and crushed him to death. Yes. 1
think there came terrible earthquake.
which killed many and frightened the
remainder away. They were no doubt
Il religious people and strongly super
s,itious. SO thlt they saw in the calam-
ity that befcl them u warning to seek
some other abode. They probably
moved south, and it may have been
their descendants that the spaniards
found in Mexico. They were certainly
equal in intelligence and advancement
to the Aztecs."
A Cargo Of Monkeys.
A merchant in Marseilles once wrote
to q correspondent on the coast of At
RIGA asking him to send him at his CON
venience two or three monkeys of the
rMrest and most valuable species. As